


The Tomorrow Over the Horizon

by SpicyRedPaladin



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pirate, Family Fluff, Fluff, Found Family, Lots of Boat Stuff, M/M, Minor Angst, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-12
Updated: 2019-03-12
Packaged: 2019-11-16 00:26:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18083837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpicyRedPaladin/pseuds/SpicyRedPaladin
Summary: Salt spray and the sound of gulls woke Shiro from his rest, a content smile coming to his face as he rubbed his eyes and yawned. The man stood and stretched, running a hand up through his thick, white, tangled mess of hair. Normally, he would make sure he was more maintained that just throwing on his clothes and a quick brush of his hair, but today he had no room to pause. This was the first day of the rest of their lives, the first day of the new world order.Today was the day The Voltron Freedom Coalition lead the raid on the capital port of the Galra Empire.





	The Tomorrow Over the Horizon

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! This is my piece for the Atlas: Shiro Zine, which released on February 28th for our star boy's birthday! I'm really proud to have been a part of the zine and to have had the ability to work with so many talented creators! The zine is absolutely FREE and can be found [here](shancesupportsquad.tumblr.com) on the Shance Support Squad tumblr.
> 
> As of posting this, the accompanying art has not been shared on the artists tumblr, but it can be found in the zine.
> 
> Beta'd by my friend [PunkinPinkGlitter](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PunkInPinkGlitter)!  
> Hope you enjoy!  
> ~Adam

Salt spray and the sound of gulls woke Shiro from his rest, a content smile coming to his face as he rubbed his eyes and yawned. The man stood and stretched, running a hand up through his thick, white, tangled mess of hair. Normally, he would make sure he was more maintained that just throwing on his clothes and a quick brush of his hair, but today he had no room to pause. This was the first day of the rest of their lives, the first day of the new world order.

Today was the day The Voltron Freedom Coalition lead the raid on the capital port of the Galra Empire.

Shiro pushed the door of his quarters open, looking around at his crew. The original crew had been small, only a handful of outcasts and a pair of elves, their people long destroyed by the evils of the empire, but it had slowly grown to take in the villages and small kingdoms that had been held under Galra rule for decades.

Honestly, saving these people were what kept Shiro going. He had witnessed first-hand what the Galra did to their captives; the carved, enchanted stone that served as his right arm was testament to their cruelty and his determination to bring their tyranny to an end. He couldn’t stand the thought of someone else having to suffer the same fate because of his inaction.

Shiro pushed the dark memories of his captivity aside as he entered the galley, smiling as he took a deep breath. Hunk always made sure to restock every time they hit shore, which was quite often recently, so Shiro knew for a fact that whatever that amazing smell was, it was probably the closest to fresh they could get for their last breakfast before the big battle. Gods above, would they need it.

Hunk smiled at his captain as the man entered, pushing a plate over towards him. “There you are; I thought I was gonna have to bring you breakfast in bed!”

The captain laughed, shaking his head. “What can I say, Hunk? I actually managed to sleep last night. Might as well enjoy what little I get, right? We’re not gonna have much of that for a while.”

The cook hummed his agreement, passing Shiro his breakfast of sausages and biscuits. There was even gravy to go with it. A special breakfast for a special morning. Shiro was a bit unhappy he couldn’t take time to savour it, but business had to be done. There was still so much to do today. Shiro finished eating in record time (without choking), letting Hunk take his tray as he hurried outside and ran directly into Allura.

His first mate give him a smile before calling out a few more orders and turning to him. “Good morning, Shiro. I trust you slept well last night? Considering you’re only now gracing us with your presence.”

Shiro gave Allura a guilty smile. He really hadn’t meant to sleep in. But it was one of the first nights he’d slept through in months. “Sorry about that, Allura. Time must have just gotten away from me. Are our allies ready for this evening?”

The first mate nodded, looking out towards the galleon that was keeping pace with their ship.  _ RIGS MARMORA  _ was painstakingly hand-painted on the side. Shiro took a deep breath. The Rogue Imperial Galra Ship Marmora, filled to the brim with freedom fighting Galra like Ulaz, the man who saved Shiro from the captivity he'd faced. His friend, sadly, wouldn't be here to greet him. Ulaz was a casualty of this war they were waging, a noble soul who spurred Shiro fight harder.

The captain breathed deep, nodding. “Alright. Anything needing done before the envoy arrives? Can't let my first mate take all the responsibility.”

Allura shook her head, laughing. “Well, if you're so inclined, you can check on Pidge. She's doing a check of the cannons.”

Shiro nodded, turning away to find the smallest member of their crew. Pidge was, indeed, manning the cannons, reloading and re-wicking and re-aligning. Everything had to be perfect, the fate of their siege depended on it. The young woman looked up as she heard Shiro approach, smiling ruefully.

“Pidge! How are those cannons coming? Are we going to be ready for the battle?”

The weapons’ master looked over, making a proud smirk before looking back at the cannons. Each one was ready, new fuses hanging at the ready to be caught aflame. “I'd say so, Captain. All weapons aboard  _ RIGS Atlas _ are primed for battle. Saw to it all myself, you know know it’s done right!”

Shiro laughed, shaking his head and examining the cannons as Pidge followed behind. He nodded his approval of the cannons before following her to the main armory. After inspecting several of the firearms, he nodded, satisfied. “Everything seems up to order. I don’t doubt that you’ve put equal measures of attention to each weapon in our arsenal. The Empire won’t know what hit them.”

The petite weapons’ master smiled and looked down. Shiro could see that something was on her mind, and he had a feeling he knew what it was. “You’re worried Matt and his rebels won’t be there? Or that the Empire found them since we last rendezvoused?”

A silent nod was all that he received in reply, and the captain let out a sigh. He couldn’t deny that he was worried about his friend as well.

“Pidge, you know your brother better than anyone. You two found each other after being separated by a raid led by one of the most ruthless Galra generals. I’m sure you know just as well as I do just how tenacious your brother is.”

He set his hand to her shoulder and Pidge let out a small laugh. “Yeah… I guess you’re right. He wouldn’t give up, even if he was captured again…” She looked up, a renewed gleam in her eyes. “When we see him again, the Galra Empire will be nothing but dust.”

Shiro nodded, squeezing Pidge’s shoulder. They heard horns on the deck, and he smiled. “That’d be Keith coming to give a report on state of  _ RIGS Marmora _ . I’ll leave our defenses in your hands, Pidge.” With that, he went back to the deck, enjoying the spray of salt water against his cheeks.

A small party from the  _ Marmora _ was, indeed, here, with Keith among them. The young man grinned when he saw the captain, and the two couldn’t help but embrace each other. Before Shiro had been captured, his family had cared for Keith like one of their own. Even after being separated by the Galra, their bond hadn’t weakened.

“It’s good to have you back on the  _ Atlas _ , Keith. Is the crew of  _ Marmora _ ready for tonight’s mission?”

They pulled apart from one another, and Keith nodded. “Yes, sir. Everyone is ready for your signal upon arrival at port. Weapons are ready and hands are willing to bear them.”

Shiro nodded, his gaze soft. “And are you ready?”

The determination in Keith’s gaze as he returned the nod took place of any words that could have passed between them. He was ready. Ready to spill the blood of the ones who’d taken his first two families from him, side by side with the family he’d found aboard both the  _ Atlas  _ and  _ Marmora _ .

Someone called Shiro’s name, bringing him out of his and Keith’s moment. Hunk was hurrying over, determination on his face. Shiro turned to him, chuckling a bit when he noticed the little package in the cook’s hands. “Hunk, are you about to turn your captain into your errand boy?”

The man chuckled, offering the package. “Of course. What else are you good for, right? No, but I need this taken up to Lance. He didn’t get to join us for breakfast before he went up.”

Shiro nodded and accepted the little package of food. “Alright, I’ll get this up to him. I was meaning to go up and see him before the battle tonight, either way.” His gaze went back to Keith. “I’ll see you later, before the battle. Until then.”

At Keith’s nod, Shiro went to the main mast, tying the parcel to his waist before hoisting himself up the pegs that served as foot and hand holds. He glanced down every once and a while, smiling as he watched the crew scurry about. By the time he was half-way up, he was well over the water, and knew that a wrong move would send him crashing down into the briny blue. It would also give the crew something to laugh at for days if the port siege went well.

At the top of the mainsail, Shiro paused, looking up at the bottom of the crows nest. He was close, now. Just a few more feet. And, as much as he wanted to enjoy the view, he was almost trembling with excitement. Because that’s where Lance, his paramour of almost five months, was watching the ocean he loved so dearly for signs of the Galra they all hated.

As Shiro made that last leg of the climb to the watchpoint, he let his thoughts wander to the first time he’d met Lance. Shiro was half dead, having narrowly escaped the gladiatorial pits where he’d been dubbed ‘Champion’ by the Galra. Lance had found him. Well... Lance, Pidge, Hunk, and Keith. But Shiro had known there was something special about Lance. It had only taken an entire year for the captain to realize that the weird grip in his chest whenever he saw Lance was  _ actual feelings _ .

Finally, he broke himself out of his reverie, pushing open the hatch to the crow’s nest and climbing up, calling out cheerily. “Morning, sunshine~. I heard  _ someone _ didn’t get breakfast yet, so here I am. Your knight in shining armor, bearing forth your breakfast.”

Lance turned, setting down his spyglass and raising an eyebrow as he listened to Shiro’s greeting. He reached over, pushing shut the hatch his captain had climbed through. “My knight, huh? Well, come over here and show this damsel in distress what you’ve brought to keep me alive.”

The two moved closer to one another, arms pressed together. Lance was really the only one that Shiro was comfortable letting touch his stone arm. It wasn’t that he was ashamed, but it certainly did make him feel strange. He didn’t feel like that with Lance. When they were alone, everything was comfortable. The silence between them, the soft brush of their fingers as they held each other’s hand, the way Lance’s head rested against Shiro’s shoulder. It was nice, like an escape from the dark world outside of the crow’s nest.

Shiro stayed all the while as Lance ate, watching him and the sky in shifts. Everything was calm, and he was able to forget his responsibilities for a while. In those moment, alone with the one he loved most, he wasn’t a pirate, or the leader of a rebellion to overthrow the oppressors of every known land. He was just a sailor, free from the cares and troubles that had plagued him and the family he had found on his journey.

A sound made Shiro look back at Lance, and he was quickly caught with the soft, gentle press of lips on his. He returned the kiss with a soft smile. He knew it very well could be the last one they ever shared, though all of his prayers begged that it wasn’t. They held each other as they kissed, pressing close to soak in every last ounce of touch they could squeeze out. They were lost in each other, in a world where all that existed was Shiro and Lance and the cool breeze and hot sun and scent of salt.

The cry of a gull broke them away from one another, both wild eyed and wishing for just a few more moments. But Lance had patrols to watch for, and Shiro had a ship to captain. One last peck of the lips passed between them before Shiro pulled away, loathe to do so. He reached out, caressing Lance’s cheek as he opened the hatch to climb back out. The younger whispered soft words, words of his homeland that he had taught Shiro the meaning of the first time he had said them.

_ I love you until eternity ends, my heart. _

Shiro smiled softly, returning the sentiment before climbing down. At the top of the mainsail, he stopped. Stormy eyes looked out across the vast ocean, looking towards the horizon where the mainland was just coming into view. The time was close at hand. Soon, they would set foot in the Galra capital as invaders. And, with all luck, they would come out as the victors. No matter the outcome of this war, Shiro knew his place in it. Should he die tonight, he knew what he would die doing.

Protecting the ones he loves and the generations that would follow behind them.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed!


End file.
